Siege of the British Residency in Kabul

Statue of Lt Walter Hamilton, VC during the attack on the residency

Date	3 September 1879
Location	Kabul, Afghanistan
Result	Afghan Victory

Belligerents

British Empire

Afghans

Commanders and leaders

Sir Louis Cavagnari

Strength

75 men

2,000+ men

Casualties and losses

72 killed

600 killed

The Siege of the British Residency in Kabul was a military engagement of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The British resident, Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort were massacred after an 8-hour siege by mutinous Afghan troops inside their Residency in Kabul. This event triggered the second phase of the war, during which an Anglo-Indian army invaded Afghanistan and captured Kabul.

During the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, British troops invaded Afghanistan, and forced the Amir Sher Ali Khan to flee. He was replaced by his son Yakub Khan, who immediately sued for peace. The resulting Treaty of Gandamak satisfied most British demands, including the annexation of several frontier districts, and the dispatch of a British envoy to Kabul to supervise Afghan foreign relations.

The political officer selected for this task was Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, the son of an Italian aristocrat who had served for several years in the British colonial administration, in particular as District Commissioner of Peshawar.

Despite his experience of the region and his qualities as a diplomat, Cavagnari's appointment was viewed with some misgivings by British observers who knew his arrogant manners. General Neville Chamberlain said of him that he was:

...more the man for facing an emergency than one to entrust with a position requiring delicacy and very calm judgement...If he were left at Cabul as our agent I should fear his not keeping us out of difficulties.

In addition, as the principal negotiator of the humiliating treaty of Gandamak, Cavagnari was hated by the Afghan populace. Despite this, he was chosen by the Governor-General Lord Lytton, who trusted and appreciated him.

The envoy arrived in Kabul on July 24, 1879, with his assistant, a surgeon, and an escort of 75 soldiers of the elite Queen's Own Corps of Guides led by Lieutenant Walter Hamilton VC. The escort (25 Sowars of the Guides Cavalry and 50 Sepoys of the Guides Infantry) was kept small, so as to avoid provoking the Afghans.

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Wikipedia